Why CBS Cancelled Robin Williams' Final Sitcom

It's considered something of a footnote now, but Robin Williams' last TV credit before his death was for "The Crazy Ones," a David E. Kelley-created single-camera sitcom that aired from September 2013 to April 2014. "The Crazy Ones" was notable in that it was Williams' first time headlining a TV series since the broadcast of "Mork and Mindy" (with Pam Dawber) over three decades earlier. Williams had spent the bulk of his career working in standup or starring in movies, often gaining a great deal of acclaim for his performances. He was nominated for Oscars for "Good Morning, Vietnam," "Dead Poets Society," and "The Fisher King" before finally winning for his very generous turn in "Good Will Hunting." His comedy albums also won him multiple Grammys, while his standup specials netted him two Emmys. 

Williams would happily have made a joke about how he is not an EGOT, but a mere EGO.

"The Crazy Ones," however, was seen (at the time) as a bold step for Williams. He was the latest high-profile star to acknowledge that TV was no longer "below" film, but a prestige medium unto itself. (For many decades, film stars staunchly refused to appear on TV, seeing it as beneath them.) "The Crazy Ones" also starred Sarah Michelle Gellar as Williams' character's daughter and protégée, as well as James Wolk, Hamish Linklater, and Amanda Setten. Josh Groban (!) and Brad Garrett also had recurring roles, and, being a David E. Kelley joint, the show attracted numerous big stars for guest spots, including Kelly Clarkson, Ed Asner, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Brad Paisley, and David Copperfield.

"The Crazy Ones," however, was canceled after its first season, lasting only 22 episodes. This is surprising, given the show's pedigree. In 2016, however, after Williams' death, Kelley talked to IndieWire about "The Crazy Ones," and he had a very palpable explanation for why it was canceled. It seems, he felt, the show just wasn't very good.

The premise of "The Crazy Ones" was ripe for potential. Williams played Simon Roberts, an ad executive in Chicago who's trying to salvage his relationship with his daughter, Sydney (Gellar). Simon has gone through several divorces and struggled with addiction since he last saw Sydney, so he decides to try and reconnect with her by giving her a high-profile job as his assistant. Sydney had a crush on her office-mate Andrew (Linklater) and he, Sydney, and Simon worked alongside the lascivious yet high-functioning Zack (Wolk) and his bisexual girlfriend Lauren (Setton), an assistant at the firm. (It seems interoffice fraternization isn't verboten.) The series not only allowed for comedic soap-opera dynamics, but also had plenty of opportunities to ridicule Madison Avenue, with Williams often improvising comedically terrible ad campaigns for fake products.

Kelley admitted, however, that the show never lived up to its potential. He hated its stories and felt that his writers never found their stride. He was also unused to television's 30-minute structure, having cut his teeth on hour-long dramedies. As he told IndieWire:

"The show wasn't very good. [...] It started off with great ratings, but after watching three or four episodes, I thought the storytelling was pretty bad. I wasn't a half-hour person, so I turned that over to half-hour people and was willing to step back."

After a few episodes, though, Kelley felt he should be able to step in and improve the show anyway. Sadly, CBS wasn't amenable to the idea ... and for cynical reasons.

When Kelly offered to step in to do re-tool "The Crazy Ones," CBS surprisingly turned him down. The network felt that shows didn't need to be good anymore, as the bulk of audiences were now only partially watching TV while they had one eye on social media. As Kelly recalled:

"Robin Williams was great ... but the stories made me want to hold my nose. [...] I went to CBS and said to them, 'This isn't very good.' [...] Their response was, basically, 'We don't care if it's any good. The way people watch TV now is they've got their computers open, they're updating their Facebook status. They have their iPads. They're doing an email. They're looking up at the television. Robin Williams is funny. It's very compatible, this show with the way people watch TV now.'"

Kelly was crushed, seeing that the business that he had dominated for so long was so bitter about its own art. Kelly had already won 10 Emmys at this point in his career, specifically for hit shows like "L.A. Law," "The Practice," "Picket Fences" (which almost crossed over with "The X-Files" once), and "Ally McBeal." He knew what quality television looked like and was often given a lot of creative leeway as a result. When CBS told him that "The Crazy Ones" was "good enough," he took it personally and turned away from major networks. 

After 22 episodes, ratings dropped, "The Crazy Ones" was canceled, and Kelly could wash his hands of the whole thing. He moved on to other hits like "Big Little Lies" and "Big Sky." 

"The Crazy Ones" isn't currently available to stream on any services, although it can be rented and purchased via Prime Video and AppleTV. It's not lost, but the series is a curio. It's a chance to see Robin Williams' final TV performances. And 22 half-hour episodes of Williams is nothing to dismiss.